A Good Fortune.

Fortune from my fortune cookie I had after dinner tonight:

I like that.  Think I'll save this one.

3:33 p.m.

Ridiculously busy day today.  So just for fun, I asked my son to pick a time, anytime.   I then set the alarm on my phone to go off at that time.  The plan was to stop what I was doing when the alarm went off and take a photo wherever I was at that point in the day. 

He chose three o'clock in the afternoon.  

As it turned out, in my fascinating life,  I was at Walmart flying through the aisles with my oldest son at 3:00 p.m.  And I did not hear the alarm over him repeatedly telling me we needed to hurry home (his sleepover guests were scheduled to arrive at 4:00).  The photo above was taken in the parking lot at 3:33.  The exact moment I checked my phone and realized not only had I missed the alarm, I had missed 3 phone calls as well.

Yes, it's a very fascinating life I lead.

Little Things.

Today was a good day filled with lots of little good things.

• Yoga. The day started off with the best yoga class ever.  I mean ever.  Made me remember why I need to continue to go.  And why I need to go more often. 
  
• Sunshine.  The rain stopped, the sun came out, the air warmed up.  It was wonderful.
• Candy corn.  Officially cracked open bag number 4 today.  I so love candy corn.
• Clean house.  The house is clean.  Until the boys came home from school, anyways.
• Chicken nuggets.  All 3 boys are buying lunch tomorrow.  Such a rare occasion to not pack a single lunch.
• Survivor and Grey's.  Both new episodes.
• Short list.  Totally tackled the to do list.  Not completely, but crossed more off than I have in months.
• Soak.  I love a good soak in a perfectly hot, bubble bath.
• Fresh.  Freshly laundered sheets.

I need more days like today.

I loved this day.

"Oh please don't go...."

we'll eat you up-we love you so!

Took my little guy to see "Where the Wild Things Are" today.  

Wow.  Please go.  You need to see this movie.

What a wonderful film.  Beautiful scenery, a touching story and creatures with such personality they made me (and my 6 year old) forget they weren't really real.   I have been waiting months for the release of this movie.  And I couldn't help but wonder how Spike Jonze would be able to turn a 338 word children's book into a 98 minute flick.  Somehow he pulled it off.  Perfectly. 

I enjoyed this movie on so many levels.  As an audience member, I was thoroughly entertained.  I laughed, I cried, I totally lost track of time.  As a mom, I could relate to having a rambunctious son (or two or three) who doesn't like frozen corn.  I could relate as a sister to a younger brother, and as a worried child who feared the sun would fail to rise in the morning.

And as an artist I couldn't help but wonder what it must feel like to watch a book you've illustrated be transformed onto the big screen.  Forty six years ago, Maurice Sendak couldn't possibly have known he was creating a story that would live on for generations.  Awe inspiring to think about.  I also found it interesting that the book's original title was to be "Where the Wild Horses Are".   After realizing Sendak had no ability to draw horses, he changed the title and subject matter.  The large noses and fat bellies of the wild things are modeled after his own relatives, and I'd love to know if the names in the movie are in honor of his aunts and uncles as well.

I was surprised (and a little nervous) that my son was one of only a handful of children in the theater.  There were dark, somewhat scary scenes, but he was not afraid.  There were also funny scenes and he laughed right along with me.  At times he was a little sad.  But he was mesmerized by the film just like I was.

Please go.

You really will love it so.

A Purchase to Pay it Forward.

For those of you that don't know, yesterday marked the one year anniversary of my very 1st sale on Etsy.  And what a year it was.  I am so grateful for all of those that have supported me and the wonderful clients I have been lucky enough to work with.  A very heartfelt thank you to you all!

In honor of my anniversary, I decided to "pay it forward" by purchasing an item from an Etsyian yet to make a sale.  Their first sale on the anniversary of my first sale.  I spent hours pouncing, searching for items, reading profiles and lurking in the forums for that special something.

My search (and my heart) stopped when I found this: 

Don't you just love my new bracelet?  

The designer of this wonderful piece of jewelry and my "pay it forward" selection is Elizabeth of Elizabeth Plumb Jewelry .  I had such a wonderful time looking through her shop (I know you will, too).   But this piece was one of those "this is it, this is the one" kind of moments.  The photo of the bracelet remained open on my desktop much of the week.  I'd take a break just to stare at it every once in awhile.  I couldn't wait until Thursday when I could officially make it mine.

I have to share with you an edited description Elizabeth wrote on the piece, as it played a big part in me making this selection.

"Pearls are said to give the wearer a sense of calmness and centeredness, and to promote faith, loyalty, truth and purity.... They can especially enhance personal integrity.

Sterling Silver improves speech and brings eloquence.....Sterling Silver will also help you make a graceful entrance and exit...

Garnet is associated with vitality, courage, passion, love, sensuality and self-confidence. Garnet blesses its wearer with good health, victory over enemies and wealth. Garnet makes the person knowledgeable and improves higher education and professional prospects. Garnet improves imagination."

Every time I wear this bracelet, I know I will be reminded of this special anniversary.  And I hope the attributes in the description will help guide me through my 2nd year.   It means much more to have purchased it from Elizabeth who was so kind and grateful--makes the bracelet even more meaningful to me. 

Happy for her, happy for me, happy with my new purchase.

Tales From a Fifth Grade Diary.

Oh my, the goodies I found while cleaning out my basement last week.  Who would have known an unmarked container could hold such treasures from my past.  A month's worth of blog posts could be written based entirely on the contents inside that plastic green box.  

The first thing I picked out to examine was this:

Behold, my 5th grade diary. 

Looking through, I can't for the life of me figure out why my younger sister would have spent so much time prying open the lock to read my entries.  The one about the time John Z. tried to set the school on fire and "almost got away with his stupid idea", was admittedly interesting.  You would think I would have a better recollection of that day.  Lots of entries on boys, pets, dancing and my best friend Carol.  No clue who Carol is, but the big fight with her led to my favorite entry in the diary.

Wednesday the 12th, 1980

"Today I made up with Carol just because she cried and her nose ran."

We're talking Pulitzer Prize material inside that little red book.

Paying It Forward on My Etsyversary.

Next Thursday, October 15th, will mark the anniversary of my very first sale on Etsy.  Listed my first item on August 28, 2008.  And let me tell you those were 48 excruciatingly long days.  Waiting, hoping, nearly giving up and closing shop altogether.  When I finally got that Etsy transaction email announcing I finally had made a sale,  I stared and stared (and stared) at the computer screen in shock.

A photo of my first item sold 

(don't worry, the name and number are fictional).

To see a "1" for sales instead of that big old goose egg I'd been staring at for 48 days gave me an incredible boost of confidence.  It made me believe maybe I really could make a go at this.  If one person would buy from me--surely someone else would as well.

It was a huge turning point.

I've thought long and hard about how I would celebrate this day.  And I can't think of a better way to mark it than by "paying it forward".  So in honor of my first sale, I will be giving an Etsyian their first sale.  I want to give someone else a boost, maybe give an artist a little bit of hope.

I have been searching and pouncing and will post in the Etsy forums as well for that special something.  My purchase will be $50 or under, and I am looking for something that I personally can not do (i.e. no papergoods, wedding items, stationery, baked goods).  

What do I like?  I love ceramics/pottery, jewelry, photography, handbags.  I am more of an artsy person, rather than crafty.  I am not particularly girly and not interested in baby or children's items.  And I do not have pets.  I love the beach, the ocean, the color blue.  Maybe this helps you if you happen to be waiting for that first sale.  

My purchase will be made on Thursday, I'll share the item with everyone on my blog on Friday.

Please don't be shy.  Take a chance.  Post a comment if you would like me to browse your shop.  I will happily check out your listings.  And if I don't select my purchase from you, maybe one of my readers will.  Keep working hard, don't give up.  You will make that first sale.

And what about you?  Made a sale and looking to pay it forward?  I'll give you a head start--my sister's shop "Lark's Nest".  I know she would love and appreciate a (non relative purchased) first sale of her own.  Or feel free to choose a listing from the comments I hope to receive. 

I truly can't wait to see what you're creating!

The Igloo in Picture 10.

Here's a fun trip down memory lane. I got tagged yesterday by a fabulous new cyber friend, Victoria at The Moss Garden. I like this tag--it's clever, unique and had me curious about my own results.

The rules? Open your first photo folder, scroll to the 10th photo, post the photo and tell the story behind it. Tag people to do the same.

My 1oth photo went way back to the winter of 2003.

It's a gigantic igloo snow fort I spent the day making with my two older sons. Funny this picture turned up, the boys still talk about building this creation. My youngest son was in the house napping (I noticed the patio door is cracked open so I would be able to hear him when he woke up).

We took a huge toy bucket and filled it with snow as if we were making an oversized sandcastle at the beach. When it was complete, there was no snow left in the backyard and the fort was taller than either of the boys. Speaking of my sons, they were 6, 3 and 7 months old at the time. Just looking at this photo exhausts me.

The remnants of the fort remained well into March before it finally melted away. A nice memory, I was happy to think about the day again.

And I am tagging the following: a niece, a cousin, two bloggers with fantastic photography and a blogger that never ceases to surprise me. I'll let you try to figure out which one is which.

• An Apple A Day
  
• Flickers of Memories
  
• Piles of Rock
  
• Waterstone
• Where Eagles Dare

It Went "ZIP" When It Moved and "POP" When It Stopped...

...."WHIRR" when it stood still.  I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will.

If you happen to know that those are song lyrics from "The Marvelous Toy" by Peter, Paul and Mary, can I just say I am so impressed with you right now.  

"The Marvelous Toy" is from the Peter, Paul and Mommy album.  It's about a mysterious toy that a father shares with his son and eventually the child passes on to his own son.  Just like the toy in the song, this timeless album has been handed down in my family from generation to generation.  My father shared it as a record with me when I was a child, I've listened to it on a cassette with my oldest son and now my youngest enjoys the music on his MP3 player (I wonder what format it will be on when I share it with my grandchildren).  No trip to the zoo has ever been complete without "Going to the Zoo" playing through my head at least once.  

And who doesn't know the lyrics to "Puff the Magic Dragon"?

I was truly sad when I heard the news that Mary Travers passed away on Wednesday.  Really, truly, sad in a way I don't usually feel about people I've never met.  I'm also disappointed that I never was able to see them perform live.  I never went to a Peter, Paul and Mary concert.  

And, sadly, I guess I never will.

B-I-N-G-O

Went to bingo last night.  Yeah, you heard me right.  Bingo.  And I learned that I can cross the professional bingo circuit off my list of back up career options.  Googled it today and there does appear to be a Bingo World Championship.  I may be missing something, but I don't know how one can practice bingo or develop a bingo strategy.

But I am thinking the picture taking, incessant talking, drinking, paper throwing and not paying attention to the bingo caller attributed to my downfall last night.  That's what I'm thinking.

Another Anniversary of My 29th Birthday.

Just celebrated yet another anniversary of my 29th birthday.  That was the year I stopped saying my age out loud, the year we added the question mark candles onto my birthday cake, the year I really started to hate birthdays and getting older.

But year after year, they keep coming around.  My father tries to tell me it's a good thing I am around to celebrate another year.  And I know he's right. 

The boys, however, love to celebrate my day.  They picked out a birthday cake for me, surprised me with flowers and played "Happy Birthday" for me on the piano.  Friends and family emailed and called to wish me a nice day as well.  I have to admit, it was a good day.

Wine made it even better.   

In honor of my birthday, my husband chose this week's "Cheap Wine with a Pretty Label".

Cupcake is a very nice Merlot bottled by Cupcake Vineyards.  It falls under my $10.00 maximum by one cent at $9.99.  I love the label--pretty and girly and swirly.  I love the website as well, fresh and clean.  But most of all, I love their tagline: "Live Deliciously".  And I think that's the way I am going to enter this next year of my life--by living deliciously.  

I'll let you know how that works out.

 

The Teacher That Changed My Life.

It was a complete fluke I ever ended up in Evelyn Askey's high school art class.  I suppose I can thank Kelli, my 8th grade best friend, for that twist of fate.  Sitting next to her filling out my 9th grade class schedule, I needed an elective.  Kelli chose art.  So I chose art.  You don’t know how many times I wonder where I’d be now if she had chosen agriculture instead.

Ms. Askey was one of those teachers that truly loved every part of her job.  She was passionate about art and sharing it with her students.  She took us on field trips to art galleries, she arranged tours of artist’s studios.  She cried when Georgia O’Keefe died.  She cared about the art community and she cared about her students.  She cared about teaching.  And we all knew it.

But most importantly, she believed in us.  And having someone believe in you, that you can do something, that you can be someone, is a very empowering gift.  Knowing what I wanted to do with my life and having such passion for it, made every other part of my life easier. I worked harder not just in art class, but in all of my classes.  Art club became my life, art class was my reason to get up in the morning.  I asked for extra assignments, I stayed after school.  I carried a sketchbook everywhere I went.  I wrote advertisements for school dances, sold donuts to earn money for an art club trip to New York City.  And I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Me and Ms. Askey at my high school graduation.  That's my Gramma in the background in the top photo.

Ms. Askey encouraged me to work harder, get better, do more.  She submitted my artwork to national competitions where I won blue ribbons and gold keys.  And with her help,  I earned a scholarship to a college I would have never been able to attend otherwise.  She wrote me letters of encouragement the first year I was away.  Letters which I will cherish forever.  

Sadly, she passed away a few years ago.  And when the news let out that she was dying, I hear she received an outpouring of letters from her students.  All thanking her for changing their lives, and encouraging her to somehow beat the cancer she was battling.  You better believe I had a letter in that pile and I was grateful to have had the chance to let her know how much she meant to me.  

Every day of my life I am grateful I walked into that art room.  Every single day.

15 hours and 13 minutes.

That’s all that’s left of the summer of 2009 at our house.  And we must have had too much fun around here, because it went by entirely too fast.

We made many wonderful memories this summer.  Here are the ones I remember the most:

1. Celebrated my middle guys 9^th birthday this summer.  A birthday that will go down as the year I locked the entire family out of the house (and car) on the way to his birthday dinner. I will never hear the end of this.  Never.
2. Sleepovers anyone?  The boys slept over, had sleep overs, slept in each other's rooms.  They were nomads.
3. After 17 years, the washer finally gave out.  This was the year I entered the 20^th century and bought the front loader.  For the record I miss the old machine terribly.
4. It was a life changing summer.  Decided to spend our life living life and not living in the car.  We walked to get ice cream, rode bikes to get lunch and drove 2 miles to the pool instead of 30.
5. This was the year our youngest was old enough to join his brothers on the swim team.  And also the year our new team beat the old team.
6. My baby lost his first tooth this summer.  How can that be?
7. We made wonderful new friends and kept the old ones.
8. We watched old friends move out of town and in turn, gained a new city to visit.
9. Coldstone Creamery makes cupcakes.  Big discovery this summer.
10. Business was good the summer of 2009.  Received recognition from Martha Stewart, completed my first official celebrity order, worked with clients in Australia, Canada and the U.K.  Saw my work in a magazine.  Awesome, awesome, awesome.
11. This was the year Michael Jackson passed away.  And my hard rock music lover son discovered pop wasn’t so bad after all.  Still working on that moon walk.
12. Got to see the inside of a toll booth this summer.  Really could have gone without that experience.
13. We became a family with an overpriced and never used basketball hoop at the end of our driveway.
14. Learned how to play ghosts in the graveyard and stayed up until midnight playing it.
15. We didn’t go to the beach this summer.  And that was okay.
16. Our family ate our body weight in hamburgers, mini corn dogs and ice cream sandwiches.  We drank soda.  Bed times no longer existed.  We got up late and there were days the boys never changed out of their pajamas.  We didn’t always collect the mail.   The boys played too many video games and watched too many movies.  We ate candy and didn’t always brush our teeth.   We relaxed.

And it was the best summer ever.

The Kid in the Middle of the Class.

Two more days and school starts back up for the boys.  Thinking about them returning has caused me to reflect on my own school days.  I couldn't resist digging up old photos of myself at their respective ages.

Yikes!  Look at the hair in 6th grade.  All of middle school was tough for me, actually.  I wasn’t the smartest,  I wasn’t the prettiest,  I wasn’t the funniest and I admit I certainly wasn’t the nicest.  Heaven knows I wasn’t athletic.  Last one picked in gym class?  Always me.   Growing up in middle school, I always felt like I was just…there.  Not really noticed, not really important.  I was just there. 

If you’re a teacher, chances are you have a student like me in your class.  Not a trouble maker, so you won’t need to dedicate time watching their every move.  Not a genius or a brown noser, so they won’t stand out or draw attention to themselves.  There will be a kid in your classroom that will do average work, follow the rules, and won’t cause you any trouble.  They’ll go unnoticed.  I hope as the school year begins, you’ll take a minute to seek out that kid, I know from experience they won’t come to you.  But I hope you’ll notice that kid and let them feel important, no matter what you’re teaching.  They may not tell you how much it means to them now, but I can guarantee you, the rest of their life they will be grateful to you.

Fortunately for me, I had such a teacher in high school.  And she changed my life forever.

Stamp Collecting.

I am a total sucker for a good old fashioned stamp set.  And I've actually managed to collect some very cool pieces.  My favorites include a vintage movie playbill series and an absolutely awesome tailor set.

I don't use any of them.  Not sure why that is.  Anyways, my parents totally support my print addiction and are always on the lookout for more pieces to add to my collection.

Check out their latest $5.00 find: 

I can line up an entire word at once:

I've used my son's washable ink to try out the stamp.  My results will be better once I use a heavier professional ink, but you get the idea.

Love it!  My son caught me inking and has eyes on the set.  I'll have to let him have a try, bet he'll enjoy it as much as me.

Now Playing.

I have exactly 1696 songs on my iPod (and an infinite number of songs I intend to download).

Last 3 played songs: 

1. "Forever" Chris Brown (downloaded after I couldn't get the music from the infamous YouTube wedding video out of my head).
   
2. "Thank You" Alanis Morrisette
3. "Love is My Religion" Ziggy Marley

Most frequently played:

1. "Boston" Augustana.  I've listened to it 47 times.  As soon as I'm done this post, I'm gonna go listen to it again.
2. "Come Clean" Hilary Duff. Punished myself by listening to this 22 times. I don't know what I was thinking.
   
3. "Gravity Rides Everything" Modest Mouse.  20 times.

Most popular genre: 

Rock. But all genres are represented, don't fret.

Most songs by these artists:

1. Green Day
   
2. AC/DC
   
3. Dave Matthews Band

Shortest: 

0:13 seconds.  "Appetizer 1"  Grateful Dead, The Pizza Tapes.  I have never heard this song in my life.

Longest:

789:57 minutes.  "Slip Slidin' Away" Paul Simon.  Hmmm.....thinking there is a big problem with this track.

Decade most represented? 

1990.

I am most embarrassed to admit I like: 

"As Long As You Love Me" Backstreet Boys.  Only Backstreet Boys tune I like if that helps redeem me.

Why isn't this on my iPod? 

"59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)", Simon & Garfunkel

Tomorrow I'm downloading: 

"Anyone Else But You"  The Moldy Peaches

I'd most like to memorize: 

"Subterranean Homesick Blues" Bob Dylan

 

If it's playing, you better believe I'm singing to it (loudly and completely out of tune):  

1. "All You Wanted" Michelle Branch.  In my brain, I totally rock at this one.
   
2. "Where I Stood"  Missy Higgins
3. "Breathe (2 AM)" Anna Nalick

Just plain awesome songs every iPod needs:

1. "Mustang Sally" Wilson Pickett
2. "Long Cool Woman" The Hollies
3. "Starry Eyed Surprise" Paul Oakenfold.  Try not to dance to this one.  I dare you.
4. "Son of a Preacher Man" Dusty Springfield
5. "Should I Stay or Should I Go"  The Clash
6. "Chain of Fools" Aretha Franklin
7. "Brown Eyed Girl" Van Morrison
8. "Lean On Me" Bill Withers

I wish I had thought to write:

"Yellow" Coldplay.  "Look at the stars.  Look how they shine for you...and all the things that you do."

The way I'd most like to live my life:

"Girls Just Want To Have Fun" Cyndi Lauper

 

Six Things You Never Needed to Know About Me.

Yep. Got tagged by Joy White.  Not usually one to do these sort of things (so don't go bombarding me with these. Please.)  But this one got me, because:

1.  I love her blog. 
   
2. Growing up she ate peanuts out of a bathtub in the town I live in. That totally won me over. (I should mention it was at a restaurant that, sadly, no longer exists).
   

Here is how it works . . . 

• Post link to the person that tags you
  
• Post the rules
  
• Write six random and/or revealing things about yourself
  
• Tag six people at the end of the post and link to their blogs
  
• Let each person know they've been tagged & leave a comment on their blog
  
• Let the tagger know when your post has been published.

And here you go.  Six things you never needed to know about me:

1. Chuck Berry tripped and fell on me.  And yes, Chuck Berry, the famous musician.
   
2. I spent a summer packaging hot dogs in a freezer at a meat processing company.  For the record, WORST. JOB. EVER.  Oh, I still eat hot dogs.  I should add that.
   
3. I memorized the entire Lee Press On Nails TV commercial about 25 years ago.  To this day, I can still recite it perfectly and with annunciation. "Introducing new Lee Press On Nails, they press on in seconds..."  Okay, I'll stop.
   
4. I collect watches and I quickly drain the batteries in every watch I wear.  I never leave the house without one on.
   
5. I have absolutely no sense of direction whatsoever.  None.  I get lost with a navigation system.  "Make a legal u turn ahead"--you'll hear that a lot driving with me.
   
6. If I had been born a boy, my mother was going to name me Ashley.  So happy to be a girl.

And the six awesome bloggers I have tagged:

Lori Plyler  Love her current studio makeover series.

Leslie Her Tiny Garden inspires me to go out and work on my own.

Shannon  I love reading about the fun things she's doing in California.

Kate  I am never disappointed with Kate's posts.  You have to read Trashy Treasure.

Stephanie An artsy, Cleveland blog.  Love it.  Check out the Flight Patterns post.  Too cool.

Liz  Liz is one of my favorite Twitter pals.  Love her art.  Just started following her blog.

Seven Boys, a Lifeguard and One Very Dead Bird.

When I look back on today, I will remember it as a wonderful evening catching up with two of my closest friends.  Our nine children all played together in the pool, out of the pool, around the pool and ate entirely too much junk food.

I will remember the day as one of the last times our families will all be together for awhile as part of our close knit triangle will sadly be moving away this weekend.  No goodbyes tonight,  I recall "see you later" being decided as our parting words.

I will remember tonight as the night I was introduced to Coldstone Creamery cupcakes.  Oh, yeah.  And you had better believe they are heavenly.  Unbelievably rich and delicious.

Tonight will go down as the night my middle son and one of his closest friends since preschool had their first official sleep over (praying there is actually some sleep involved in the sleep over).

But our sons?  The boys, I am sure, will remember this night as the night of the dead bird.  Helpless little guy stuck in the hood of my friend's car.  And there's no doubt they'll remember the poor lifeguard, his belly still full from the cupcake we had just fed him, trying not to vomit as he removed the poor creature for us.

A nice night.  Could have done without the bird.  But a very nice night.

I Survived Survivor.

My family is crazy.  Not that this is some earth shattering revelation I have recently discovered.  This is a fact I've known for some time.  And I'd be surprised if any one of them disagree or is offended by this remark.  They're crazy.  That's just the way it is.

But what I didn't realize until yesterday is that my family is also very, very competitive.  I'm talking win at any cost, nothing stand in my way, someone may get hurt, competitive.  Yesterday was the day crazy and competitive came together in my family.  And it was like nothing I have ever seen before in my life.

Every July for the past 8 or 9 years, my dad's side of the family gets together for a "Survivor" picnic.  My uncle plans and runs all the events for the day very much like the TV show (minus the million dollars, but you would never have known). Aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, brothers, boyfriends, girlfriends are all broken up into predetermined teams. Each team of 4-5 people sport matching bandannas and participate in food challenges, water challenges, trivia and the final relay event that wraps the whole day up.  The winning team members each get a trophy at the end of the competition.  Sounds like fun, right?

(Me and the rest of the pink team)

That's what I thought.  I'm thinking fun family picnic, catch up with the relatives.  Nice way to spend the afternoon.  But I hadn't figured the competitive crazy gene flowing through the veins of my family into this equation.  This was not a quaint catch up with your cousin picnic.  Oh, no.  These people came dressed to play and played to win.  My brother had actually cleared a spot on his mantel in anticipation of bringing home a 4th trophy (the others are not only on the mantel in his living room, but have lights directed on them as well).  There was trash talk, vomiting, penalties and talks of disqualification (absolutely no alcohol involved, I know it's hard to believe).  Strategy was whispered between team members.  Competing teams sized each other up.  A wedding band was lost in the flowing creek in the midst of the water challenge.  Nothing slowed these people down. 

In one of those "sounded like a good plan at the time" moments I volunteered to take part in the water challenge.  That's me in my freezing cold creek water soaked linen shorts.

My sister in law deserved MVP honors as far as I was concerned.  She inhaled the pork rind, uncooked spam, grass jelly (yes, grass not grape) platter my uncle put together.  She may have been the only person that didn't vomit at this leg of the relay.

(My uncle finalizing plans before the competition begins)

There was no winner in the challenge this year.  No trophies were handed out for the first time ever.  But if anyone deserved one, I would have given it to my uncle.  Because despite all the trash talk and arguing, his planning year after year plays a part in keeping this crazy family together.  Everyone shows up, people drive in from out of town and my son is counting down the days until next year's "Survivor".  My aunt even maintains a family website filled with photos of past events.  It is amazing to say the least.

So I have officially survived my first "Survivor".  And I am now quite sure I have no business competing in the actual television version.  But if Jeff Probst ever does come knocking at my door?  Boy, do I have a list of names for him.

Why I'm Not Following You.

Woke up this morning to noticeably less Twitter followers.  Wondering what I said to offend so many people, I went back and checked my last tweet.  Can't imagine mentioning my latest blog post on my garden would have caused such an uproar.  And then I notice the Twitter trending topics.  Half of them are regarding cleaning house on Twitter spammers.

Happy to have them gone, actually.  But I have a different approach around here.  And I'm the first to admit I am hardly the Twitter authority.  I've been at this since late October, carefully selecting the 1,702 wonderful people I follow rather than following 15,000 people just because I can.  I read every profile before I choose to follow someone and don't feel obligated to follow those that follow me.  

So who am I?  I am loyal, that's who I am.  I will read your tweets and retweet the ones I really like.  I'll browse your blogs,  check out your website, print out your coupons, consider your business advice and tell my non-twittering friends about your products.  

But I won't follow you if you're doing any of these 10 things:

1. You're naked.  Why are you naked or half dressed in your avatar, by the way?  Go put some clothes on and we'll talk.
2. Expanding on rule number one, your first tweet is telling me to check out your pictures.  Um, yeah, I'm not checking out your pictures.  I have a pretty good idea of what you're doing in them.
3. I check out every profile page before I choose to follow someone.  Look at yours from time to time and see what everyone else is reading.  Ask yourself if you would read what you are writing.  I do this daily (I'm really not all that exciting as it turns out).
4. Are you a constant retweeter?  It's nice you're helping your friends out.  But if all you do is retweet and post links, that gets old fast.  I bet you're more interesting than you think.  Mix it up and let me know what you are doing, too.
5. Do you have a "Get Rich Quick" scheme for me?  Wow, there are so many of you out there!  Glad to hear you are all thriving right now.  Wish you'd all get together and use your skills to solve our economic woes.  Could you do that?  Please.
6. You got nothing.  I mean literally nothing.  Not one tweet.  Why aren't you tweeting?  It scares me what you might say when you do start talking.
7. Are you in the witness protection program?  Then why are you protecting your updates?  I get it if you want to keep your tweets between friends.  I'm cool with privacy.  But don't follow me and think I'm going to ask to read your updates (and I'm betting you have some awesome tweets under that lock and key).
8. Did you just list a new product today?  Good for you!  I love to check out your work and see what you're up to.  If you are tweeting about your product every 5 minutes though, we are going to have problems.
9. Don't tell me too much.  John Mayer got away with it because he was a celebrity.  And for the record, I still follow him.  And no, he doesn't follow me (again, I'm not that interesting).
10. Your twitter name is just a bunch of letters and you've got no avatar.  I don't know what you're up to, but it's not going to be good.  I'm just saying.

What do I like?  I'm a sucker for an inspirational quote, a funny joke, breaking news and I really do like hearing the funny thing your kid did today.  I will be happy for you when you succeed, so I hope you share that too.  I like the twitpics you post, hearing about the conference you're attending.  And thanks so much for letting me know that product I've been eyeing is on sale.  Basically, just like in real life, I like nice, normal people (people in clothes, don't forget the first rule about the naked thing).  

And if you're one of those people, I'd be thrilled to follow you.